Around 1,200 Indians have applied to invest half-a-million dollars each to settle in US under a government sponsored 'invest in the US and get a green card scheme', according to a report in The Economic Times. Following the US government's plan of raising the investment amount from $5,00,000 to $8,00,000 from October 1, there has seen a spurt of applications for its EB-5 visa program.

For financial year FY15 in US, the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) approved 111 EB-5 visas for Indian applicants .

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was created to encourage wealthy foreigners who can invest in US to create jobs for locals and in turn get rewarded by a green card.

The EB-5 programme has two broad divisions - the direct investment route and the regional central (investment) programme.

Under the direct investment route, entrepreneurs (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) are eligible to apply for a green card if they create 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified US workers.